Aztecs at New Mexico State

Recruited by Chuck Long, but signed, developed and polished into a play-making linebacker by the staffs of Brady Hoke and Rocky Long, Nick Tenhaeff has seen the good and bad of San Diego State football.

It started with some bad times in 2009 when Tenhaeff didn’t play a down as a redshirt in the Aztecs’ 4-8 season, the first of Hoke’s two short years before he left to be Michigan’s head coach.

But what followed was three straight bowl seasons for the Aztecs and Tenhaeff, the former Atascadero High star running back turned linebacker. Tenhaeff has been a force in that span, playing in 42 straight games, tying him with Jordan Thomas for most on the team.

That certainly has been the good times. But with the Aztecs off to a dreadful 0-3 start this season, their worst out of the gate since Chuck Long’s last in 2008, Tenhaeff and his fellow senior leaders know today’s contest against New Mexico State (0-4) at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces is a must-win game. The Aztecs open conference play Friday night at Qualcomm Stadium against Nevada, so winning the conference remains the salvaging theme.

“We talk about it every day, about still winning the conference championship,” said Tenhaeff, who is 6-2, 235 pounds. “No one is walking around with their head down and thinking this is over. We’re not happy at all with our start. It’s unacceptable to not have a win at this point. We’re doing everything we can to step forward and get this season going and end it on a good note. I think we have a lot of perseverance on this team. We know we have the ability and team camaraderie to turn this thing around.”

Head coach Rocky Long said Tenhaeff is “a quiet guy,” certainly not a “cheerleader” on the field, but more a leader by example, the Quiet Assassin in Long’s 3-3-5 attacking defense. A criminal justice major, a senior, Tenhaeff plans to be a firefighter if a career in football doesn’t work out.

“He’s a very hard-playing, aggressive outside linebacker,” Long said. “He’s a great young man who works really hard and knows what he’s doing and plays as hard as he can play.”

In the Aztecs’ first three games, Tenhaeff has 15 tackles (12 solos), including a team-high 4.5 tackles for a loss. He has one sack and has broken up one pass. His sack came against Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion in the heartbreaking loss to the Beavers last week.

He also was flagged for roughing Mannion, a questionable penalty in the first quarter that led to a Beavers score and bothered Long and his staff. In fact, Long said on his radio show this week that he told Tenhaeff afterward if he gets back on a quarterback again to do exactly the same thing because he didn’t break any rules on the tackle in Long’s judgment.

“As I get older I realize how seldom sacks come around,” Tenhaeff said. “When you get one you have to appreciate it. But when it happens, it’s 11 guys who make it happen, not just one.”

SDSU’s defense has been porous, allowing 6.0 yards a play, but it’s been especially ineffective in the red zone. Teams are an amazing 9-for-9 in making touchdowns once they get inside SDSU’s 20-yard line.

“We’re not making plays,” said Long, explaining his side’s matador look at money time.

Tenhaeff agrees.

“Down in the red zone especially, it’s a one-man thing there,” Tenhaeff said. “Someone has to step up and make a play. We just haven’t been able to capitalize on it.”